11 February 1942___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DEI: Another SNLF will attempt to land at Semarang tomorrow. Barring reinforcements, this should be enough to take the base in a few days. This will really open up Java and get the timing in the SRA more or less on track. There is enough supply at Bandjermasin for LR CAP now so the ships should be relatively safe as long as they get in and out quickly. It's another CL heavy fast transport TF.

Both this and escorting DDs tangled with PTs today a few hexes from Semarang. No PTs were able to get in close and one was sunk by the DDs.

The Bandoeng strike yields decent results, with a few bombers hit on the ground. There don't appear to be many fighters left on Java.

CHINA: The surrounded unit near Sinyang was hit and destroyed. Now a long walk out of the forest for these units. It's worth it though to secure supply lines for the duration.

PACIFIC: I'll hit Port Moresby tomorrow for some more intel and to hit the bombers. No sign of fighters here yet.

MALAYA: Another decent DA at Singapore gets a 2:1. It yields a more even number of casualties for each side. In spite of the consistent daily air raids, the forts went back to 2 today and engineers again reduced them to 1. I wish I could keep this going, but the best division in the stack are getting up to 70-80 fatigue. I'll have to take a few days of rest and start again.

12 February 1942___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DEI: The 2nd Semarang landing became a tad interesting when during the night phase as the Batavia CD gun unit's 120mm and 75mm CD guns blasted away at my ships. Several were hit and set to fire.

Soon after the air raids came. The LR CAP was too light and sporadic to stop all raids. The first was dealt with fairly easily, but I was very lucky later when a flight of Wildebeests came in and were only carrying bombs, not torps. CL Naka took 4 bomb hits but amazingly has only 54 system damage and should be fine if no subs get in the way.

PTs swept in but 2 were sunk for no damage by covering DDs.

We should now have enough to take the base after a day or two of rest.

CHINA: In another good air raid at Sian the AVG is hit while not coming up to provide CAP at all. A few P-40s destroyed.

PACIFIC: Bettys found some Banshees at Port Moresby. Took out 1 on the ground, which is nice.

MALAYA: More bombardment at Singers.

BURMA: At Prome the 1st Raiding Rgt takes the base easily. This will be a spot where I attempt to hold the base. A Naval Guard unit will be flown in with a construction battalion. If it can hold long enough troops from Singapore could make this a tough spot for the Allies to take back . That will likely be a few weeks distant however. It will also serve a diversionary purpose if the Allies do attempt to reclaim the base. Another destination is targeted for a para drop and will have much better support when it is attempted in a few weeks.

CAP engaged: Ryujo-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 9000 , scrambling fighters to 5000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 12 minutes 24th Sentai with Ki-43-Ic Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 6000 , scrambling fighters to 5000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 16 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Semarang at 53,102

CAP engaged: Ryujo-1 with A6M2 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 9000 , scrambling fighters to 1000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 52 minutes 24th Sentai with Ki-43-Ic Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 6000 , scrambling fighters to 1000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 54 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Semarang at 53,102

There will be a lot of repairs to do in China if he keeps the planes consistently on the ground. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

13 February 1942___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SUBS: RO-65 discovers Lexington near Port Moresby. This is great intel, but at the cost of the sub. Six fish were loosed, but no hits, and then the escorts sent the sub to the bottom.

DEI: On Java the Yokosuka 3rd SNLF paratroops hit Madoien, lowering forts to 0 and getting a 3:1 but not taking the base. First time I've seen that. It's too bad as there were two air groups here and they will be flown and railed out tomorrow for sure.

At Semarang and Batavia a few Dutch fighters come up and are shot down by sweeping Zeros and Oscars.

Lautern, Soerabaja and Ambon are hit by raids on the fields.

CHINA: More AVG hit in Sian. Still they are not flying CAP. That is still fine with me.

One hex from Sian in the forests the full blockading force of Chinese has arrived. It is too much to push back. The troop levels are close to even at just above 3k raw AV. I'l try to establish a holding force here and then flank the stack to force them to move back into Sian where the air force will have a better shot and the tanks will be more effective. I should be able to get 2-3k AV around into the clear there within 2-3 weeks.

BURMA: Hudsons and 4E hit troops at Prome. They are unsupported by fighters, so I will LR CAP tomorrow to see if he is bold enough to try the same two days in a row.

MALAYA: Another bombardment at Singers. Tomorrow is the historical date the city capitulated, but it'll likely be at least another week in this game.

CAP engaged: 2-Vl.G.IV with CW-21B Demon (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 8000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 31 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Sian , at 83,41

14 February 1942___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SUBS: The Holland Maru is sunk by O24 near Balikpapan. Not too many hits lately by the Allied subs, but at least 2-3 attacks per day.

DEI: Dutch bombers at Semarang are dealt with severely by LR CAP. I'm surprised he left them on today.

CHINA: In China a massive raid on Changsha leaves the base with about 60 damage on the field. Again, no CAP was present.

Near Sian the Allied stack bombarded. The effect was much stronger than anticipated. The IJA troops took a real hit, with over 20 squads disabled. I haven't seen this from the Chinese before, so it's a bit surprising. More arty is on the way, but is still a week's walk away.

BURMA: LR CAP at Prome makes short work of the Hudsons and a few B-17D as Torsten kept them flying for a second day in a row. I'm sure he has more British and AVG fighter groups nearby, but he hasn't shown them since the first contact in Burma.

PI: I've split the Lilys off from the daily raids on Clark, and they are hitting Bataan to keep that firing AA, to get supply hits and to reduce the effectiveness of fort building. So far there is damage each day on the base, which is a good sign. Clark is hovering around 20-30 damage each day as well.

I'm not quite sure why the Chinese got the better of our bombardment exchange today, but at least if he keeps it up it'll drain even more supply. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

15 February 1942___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SUBS: The KXVI takes two hits near Cagayan while trying to interdict troop loading ops there. This seems about all my ASW is capable of right now. About 2-3 light hits on a sub.

DEI: A few unescorted attacks went in at Semarang and were mauled by the LR CAP. Every day like this further reduces Dutch air capability irrevocably.

CHINA: Near Kanhsien a small battle pushes trapped KMT troops back into the woods where they'll be stuck for a while. All troops in the South Central area will now move to threaten the Changsha area. I don't have enough there to actually attack, but I'd like to keep him thinking about the possibility and mess with troops placements by getting into the hex threatening three bases at once next to Changsha.

PACIFIC: A raid went over Port Moresby but only put slight damage on the fields and didn't hit any bombers.

MALAYA: I'm not sure how, but at Singers level 1 first were again built. This caused the DA today to go to 1:1 and although it handed out big losses to the Allies, we had a lot of disablements as well. Even though troops have been resting for days fatigue and disruption also shot up. I'll keep it on for tomorrow and hope now we can get a 2-3:1 and take the base. If not it might mean a few more days rest before trying again.

After having to reinstall everything I lost a few combat reports and will have to approximate the details for the 17th and 18th of february. I'm sure that won't leave too much out as although a lot is going on, it's fairly consistent from turn to turn right now.

SUBS: Subs have been hitting very little for either side. The I-6 took out an Am near NE OZ on the 19th.

DEI: A few very minor air battles occur over Java. Troops are on moving across the island from Semarang and cutting the rail. Once the island is effectively split, I'll begin moving on Soerabaja.

CHINA: The Chinese continue to bombard daily near Sian. I'm not sure how that's affecting his overall supply situation, but it can't help. Between 15-20 IJA infantry squads are disabled a day, so it's mildly effective, but the counter-bombardment always gets some Chinese squads as well.

BURMA: Single supply ships are moving into Rangoon, and the Bettys won't go of them. I brought Sonias in and they are at least flying, but have only hit one, and very lightly with a single 50kg bomb.

MALAYA: I had to shut down the Singapore DAs after the 16th to wait for fatigue and disruption to lower again. Fatigue shot to between 70-80 for a few of the divisions. The performance even with ) forts in the last DA convinced me they would not take the base without a bit of rest first.

I set the Sallys from Singapore to hit the troops as well as the arty bombardment, which is working well.

20 February 1942___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

MALAYA: Singapore falls!! It's always good to hear Tokyo Rose.

After waiting and bombarding for almost a week after the last attack the troops were refreshed and instead of getting a 1:1 the attack came in at 4:1. What this means to me is that fewer of our troops were disabled or destroyed. This bodes well for a move to Sumatra soon. I'll be bringing a good deal of artillery as well. I have a new thought about what to do at Palembang. Not sure it will work though.

Three divisions are in the 200-250 range in AV, and will need a lot of time to recover. In 3 weeks I'd like to make use of the invasion bonus for at least one and potentially 2-3 important targets, depending on the troops available at that time. I'll reveal the destinations at a later date when plans are formalized.

One question. Are there usually two Indian divisions in the defense of Singapore, or is one of these in the list (9th and 11th Indian Divisions) an addition moved from another area?

DEI: Just South of Koepang US CVs showed up to possibly interdict a landing there. All of the troops I've been sending to Java have had false destinations of Koepang, and it seems some of this might have gotten through the sigint loop to Torsten. Or it's just a chance try on his part. But it is a tad dangerous to get too close to Kendari at the moment, as he found out today.

My first indications of the 3 US CVs came from Mavis search, and shortly after the Oscar sweep of Koepang met 3 USN Buffaloes in the air and downed two of them. Then 2 groups of Bettys launched strikes. They were rudely repulsed by a strong cap, and I lost about half of each group plus a bunch of zero escorts. In the afternoon they made another foray, and the tenaciousness of the attack finally broke through. Only one hit was scored, but it was a torp in the side of Saratoga. Torsten intimated after the turn that it was not a critical hit, but it still felt good and may send at least 1 CV to get fixed up out of the area. It also gives me good intel on the location of these ships.

The implications of this attack are huge. I'm mobilizing the remaining 3 fleet CVs from Yokohama and sending those with the Shoho to meet the Ryujo, Zhuiho and Hosho at Babeldaob. The KB will be formed from all of these ships and will be available to meet US CVs should they be encountered in the SRA area during the next 3 weeks or so. They will most likely then move to support the most critical invasion (s) before the end of the bonus.

CHINA: The AVG met a flight of Kates I meant to ground and forgot to set. All 5 were destroyed. Crap. At least I predicted the AVG's appearance in the area correctly. All other flights were grounded or redirected on the day, and a massive raid even hit Changteh without escort while the US planes were LR CAPing the other direction from Changsha. Sian is getting most of the business right now though. I suspect a move to defend it in the next few days.

BURMA: A new tactic for single ships near Rangoon worked well. I sent in one of the crack zero groups at 1k and hit the xAKL Selma City with 11 20mm shells and 21 60kg bombs. Not bad.

CAP engaged: VF-3 with F4F-3 Wildcat (0 airborne, 10 on standby, 13 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 4000 and 11000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 29 minutes 18 planes vectored on to bombers VF-42 with F4F-3 Wildcat (0 airborne, 10 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters to 10000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 20 minutes 8 planes vectored on to bombers VF-6 with F4F-3A Wildcat (0 airborne, 10 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 2000 and 9000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 20 minutes 8 planes vectored on to bombers VMF-111 with F2A-3 Buffalo (0 airborne, 6 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 2000 and 8000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 19 minutes 4 planes vectored on to bombers VMF-221 with F2A-3 Buffalo (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters to 5000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 17 minutes 6 planes vectored on to bombers VF-2 with F2A-3 Buffalo (0 airborne, 7 on standby, 10 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 5000 and 11000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 28 minutes 11 planes vectored on to bombers

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Rangoon at 54,54

If only a few more could have hit, this would have been a perfect day for the Emipire. As it is, not bad.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

21 February 1942___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DEI: Everything seems a bit slow moving lately. If I want to do anything past the SRA I have to get a move on. I think several plans will have to be put in motion at once and mutually supported by the newly forming KB and lots of LBA. I'm moving an Air HQ to Java right away. Maybe provide a surprise or two soon.

Ambon is being landed tomorrow, bombarded after, then another SNLF will head in within the week. Not sure two will be enough, but we'll see. Then Koepang/Lautern. All while the units on Java push toward Soerabaja and the big guns move to Palembang. One division that is still only at 250AV will head toward Burma.

Djambi went over to our side without a fight today. That means I'll have to scramble to throw air support and a fighter group in there right away to combat the inevitable bombing of the oil.

CHINA: Just more manouvering around the Sian blockade and bombing everywhere. He continues to bombard my stack, which continues to get good results but must be draining enormous amounts of supply.

PACIFIC: At Port Moresby Bettys flew to attack ships there. Only 6 flew though of a group of 18. All missed their targets.

BURMA: I took a stab at Mandalay and found AVG sq 1. They were flying CAP, not even training, so we had a good tussle before the zeros prevailed, shooting down 6 P-40 for 3 zeros lost.

MALAYA: Three more divisions are beginning prep for Palembang. They'll be moving as soon as the port is clear of mines and the transports can move in.

The A6M2 is doing well for me, but I need more of them, badly! I'm building 110 and still have 0 in the pool right now with a lot of half-filled groups. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yeah, early war, just can't get enough A6M's. I find I have to make careful use of the A5M's to free up enough A6M's for offensive op's. Some very tough decisions involved. 110/mo still means only one group can convert to A6M after operational losses (at least for me, but I know I have a very high tempo of operations).

Break down the divisions at Singapore into their three components and spend the PPs to place good leaders in them to speed up the recovery process.

Southern Army HQ - Have you switched her from Singapore over to Palembang for prepping?? Having her at Singapore with over 20k in supplies will enable those troops there to take replacements daily vs once every three days if she is too far away.

Break down the divisions at Singapore into their three components and spend the PPs to place good leaders in them to speed up the recovery process.

Southern Army HQ - Have you switched her from Singapore over to Palembang for prepping?? Having her at Singapore with over 20k in supplies will enable those troops there to take replacements daily vs once every three days if she is too far away.

Good thoughts. I never break divisions to do that. I'll try it with two of them.

The Southern HQ, she is in Johore Baru. Supply in Singers is well over 20k. I have started the Palembang preps. And that of the other two HQs, one for Soerabaja and one for Palembang also.

_____________________________

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

I broke some divisions down after two failed attempts to take Changsha (no more planned ). I followed their rebuilding efforts vs a couple of divisions that I didn't via Tracker. There is a big difference.

22 February 1942___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DEI: Ambon has big guns. The fast transport pounds back, absorbs the blows and lands the troops. No ship has more than 12 damage, so they'll head back for a rest but nothing serious. The troops are nearly undisrupted, but the AV is only half of the Dutch forces, so more will have to be used here. BBs hit in a few days.

CHINA:Massive attacks hit Changteh today, nearly closing the airfield. The AVG must have been LR CAPing the other direction, as from Changsha two hexes away none took part to stop the raids. I'll switch it up but leave a sweep on tomorrow.

BURMA: A mass of CAP was over Mandalay today and our zeros did surprisingly well, especially considering we have no limit to CAP altitudes. He had 8 groups staggered from 8k to 28k in even increments. It should have been a massacre, but instead it turned into a minor victory. We lost only 7 planes to 23 for the Allies! No radar must have helped a bit, as there was only a 9 minute warning of the attack.

I learned two things from this result:

1. He is focusing heavily on the Burma region. He feels it will be difficult for me to make an amphibious assault behind him into India without the full KB, and he believes he might be even able to hold onto parts of the Northern areas if he plays his cards right. The inclusion of several US groups here in addition to the AVG is telling.

2. The DEI is a roadblock but he doesn't want to break his strength holding me there. He has chosen a few crucial spots where he will fight all-out. One is likely to be Northern OZ. Another is Port Moresby. He may even be thinking of an early landing in Malaya or Sumatra once my forces have moved to conquer Burma and the last of the DEI, possibly a few islands in the Pacific.

CAP engaged: AVG/1st Sqn with P-40E Warhawk (0 airborne, 8 on standby, 0 scrambling) 3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 18000 , scrambling fighters to 18000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 13 minutes No.21 Sqn RAAF with Buffalo I (0 airborne, 12 on standby, 0 scrambling) 4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 28000 , scrambling fighters to 28000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 18 minutes No.135 Sqn RAF with Hurricane IIb Trop (0 airborne, 11 on standby, 0 scrambling) 3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters to 20000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 26 minutes No.232 (P) Sqn RAF with Hurricane IIb Trop (0 airborne, 10 on standby, 0 scrambling) 3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 22000 , scrambling fighters to 22000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 22 minutes No.243 Sqn RAF with Buffalo I (0 airborne, 10 on standby, 0 scrambling) 2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 28000 , scrambling fighters to 28000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 24 minutes No.258 Sqn RAF with Hurricane IIa Trop (0 airborne, 10 on standby, 0 scrambling) 3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 21000 , scrambling fighters to 21000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 15 minutes No.453 Sqn RAF with Buffalo I (0 airborne, 9 on standby, 0 scrambling) 3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 13000 , scrambling fighters to 13000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 11 minutes 35th PG/40th PS with P-39D Airacobra (0 airborne, 16 on standby, 0 scrambling) 6 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 8000 , scrambling fighters to 8000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 15 minutes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Mandalay , at 59,46

The P-39s did not fare well in today's battles, with more than half of the Allied losses coming in this plane. In my other game they did well en masse, but not in small groups.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

23 February 1942___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DEI: The first torp carrying Cats noticed so far in the war hit and sink an empty xAP heading toward Singapore. I was lazy with the LR CAP thinking no torpedo bombers were left. My bad.

Ambon is crushed by BB bombardment. More troops are on the way.

CHINA: Night attacks hit Liuchow and Changsha today. These were moderately successful, getting some hits on the fields and damaging some H81-A3. Sian is also hit hard in daylight raids.

PACIFIC: Banshees let loose and take out a PB in one of our fast transport TFs near New Guinea. I chose to LR CAP the wrong one, it appears. Betties get revenge, taking out a PG and an xAK at Port Moresby.

BURMA: The Allies take back Prome, which had been evacuated by airlift.

24 February 1942___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DEI: Now that IJA bombers have been freed up I'm hitting both the fields and the troops at Palembang. A good number of support troops are being hit every day, so hopefully this wil begin to take it's toll. Yes, if you haven't read this in a while, Palembang is still in Allied hands. I'm not happy about this, but since there is 1000 AV of Dutch troops in the hex, I have to wait for reinforcements.

My forces there are recovering back to around 1000 AV as well, and I will first move a bunch of arty units into the base and commence bombardments. Two divisions will be landed at Oosthaven, but I am very wary of the presence of Allied CVs in the area. If I were him they would be waiting around Cocos and would be there to wipe out my invasion fleet at least by day two of the landings. I'll extend search from Java and see if I can spot anything out there.

CHINA: Ichang is captured. He only had a single Corps worth about 80 AV still there, and it was completely destroyed by the shock attack. A Brigade and an engineer unit will stay and the rest will swing around toward Changsha.

The troops are starting to arrive across the river near Sian and pressuring the flank of the base. I also have about 3000 AV moving toward the Changsha area that will at least try to feint and occupy the KMT forces in the area while air raids continue to work on supply and interdict fort building.

PACIFIC: No action around Port Moresby today. Fighters are listed here now though, so the Bettys will be turned off for attacking this area.

BURMA: After our various small para-drops, now comes the one I hope will stick. Meiktila is empty. This could be a trap, and he might have plenty nearby to move in. I will attempt it, as I also have the 14th Tank Rgt moving within two hexes of Taung Gi.

Hankow is the main airbase in China and is currently at level 6 and rising. Four Sally groups are based here and can hit either the Changsha area or Sian. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Glad to hear you had a good time in New York. I'm hoping to get out that way at some point.

How many Ha-34's are you producing a month and have you had any trouble stockpiling engines. With Sally production halted, how many Ha-32's do you now produce? I'm guessing you're still needing them for the Betty?

With PDU on I'm just trying to gage my numbers so I don't over/under produce. With PDU off I had to produce a little of everything so it wasn't a concern. I want to avoid any production mistakes that require HI and supply to fix.

25 February 1942___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SUBS: Some ASW ships finally made Allied subs pay a price for sitting around at Singapore, as Pompano takes a pounding. Mines are on the way to add to their pain if they stick around.

DEI: Damn his subs! They've been laying mines all over the DEI and at Singkawang this is the 3rd set I've had to clear. This time two got cleared by DDs the hard way. They might both make it, but Nowaki has 65 flotation damage and is still 8 hexes from Singapore.

Nells take out a few more worthless Dutch planes at Kalijdati. Troops are moving toward Soerabaja. About 800AV will form the first van of attack.

CHINA: Sian is plastered again and the Chinese stack continues to bombard our troops daily near Sian. I'm sure he's trying to raise their experience, but at what cost to supply?

BURMA: Meiktila is captured by paratroops. Now we'll see if we can hold it. A naval guard will fly in followed by a division if there is time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Feb 25, 42 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

26 February 1942___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SUBS: Near the coast of Cali the I-19 gets lucky with an unescorted xAK sighted in the periscope. It surfaces to attack and sends two torps into the K.I. Luckenbach. My DDs continue to take a pounding, with Hatsuhara going under due to a Dutch torpedo today.

DEI: Troops ships have the okay to move into Singapore harbor now to load up for Sumatra. Madoien will be attacked tomorrow on Java. This level 4 base will be the destination for an air HQ hoping to surprise any shipping or better targets South of Java in the next week.

CHINA: Not much going on other than bombing and banking near Sian. The Chinese stack continues to grow as it bombards, which must mean it has good supply and is taking reinforcements.

PACIFIC: A few Banshees hit near Cape Gloucester.

BURMA: Now the fun of supplying by air and getting troops into Meiktila fast. It'll be a tight schedule. There are some bigger Chinese units in the Burma area, so I know they'll be heading this way. I just had a thought though. Are those units restricted? Can any that start in the mountain area be bought out? I believe we didn't make any concessions for Chinese units in Burma in our HRs, and we do have a PPs for border crossing rule. Hmmm. I'll have to look into this.

So now I have to sift through what is in Burma that I've seen and figure out what he has. Then I'll do the same for Indian units. This will determine a lot of what I'm able to do with my free divisions in the next month.

EDIT:

With the newly discovered division that can be bought out from Chunking, this makes a large possible addition to the Burmese Defense. If he has made use of all of these units there, which I would wager he has considering his commitment to the area, I could be in for a real fight. After the SRA Burma is the most important region on the map for me, and I'll do everything I can to take everything to Katha by June. If these large Chinese units are indeed in Burma this could open the door to the mountains in a flanking move as well. I'll have to investigate that possibility further.

< Message edited by obvert -- 9/10/2012 8:53:45 AM >

_____________________________

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

The cards are on the table now. After several probing attacks using paratroops, this one I hope to make stick. The bulk of Torsten's forces are in Prome and Moulmein. The Moulmein stack is about 1100 AV and bombards my troops daily, with moderate success. Not much I can do there, it's just a stalemate until more troops arrive.

A Naval Guard will join the paratroops in Meiktila, and then the newly arriving 21st division will be flown in as well. If I get a window of a few weeks, I could possibly hold this base. The 18th division is recuperating in Singapore and will rail out in 7-10 days. Meanwhile two of the best zero groups will try to hold the airspace and supply will be flown by bombers while the transports take care of the troops.

The 14th tank regiment will invest Taung Gi in hopes of staling any move on Meiktila. It should hold its own in good terrain there. If knocked out it will attempt to reach the Lashi area if it is still a viable fighting force, hoping to draw forces from Mandalay. If all of the Chinese are in Burma, maybe there aren't many troops up the road to China? We'll see.

I've not faced a strong attempt at the defense of Burma yet, so this will be interesting.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Sian area is the main goal for the IJA currently. A big Chinese stack is blocking the road, but our flanking troops will try to gain access to the city across the river. This will be risky. Sian will have forts level 3-4, about 120k troops, (assuming he does not move any back from the current positions other than those trapped across the river). If the big Chinese stack moves back it will be in a clear hex at Sian and thus exposed to bombing. We should have a numbers and quality edge, but it will most likely take a while to show, and there will probably be some bloody losses before any breakthrough occurs.

In the center the SE Army of about 2500 AV will move into the spot on the rail to Changsha, also threatening river crossings to Henyang and Siantang as well as a move to Changsha. With current dispositions Siantang is very vulnerable, but I'm sure he will even things out soon. The Northern Central Army will move to within one hex of Changsha before any further decisions are made. If the river crossings are protected I will invest Changsha with 4000 AV and open the roads from three sides, thus allowing my troops to pass through the city from the central side. I'll then move this consolidated army back to threaten both river crossings again and another move back to Changsha.

The 2E pool is now slowly starting to grow. I should be able to attack both Sian and Changsha with good numbers soon. Chungking will have to wait until I can again use the IJN here. Right now Burma and Java are more important.

If about 5k AV of Chinese are near Sian, and 350k are in the Changsha region, how much is left elsewhere? It will be a while before I could even try for Liuchow, but I'd like 3-4 divisions to head there eventually. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The fall of Singapore allows several divisions to move immediately to Sumatra and Java, as well as freeing up many artillery units that will go to Palembang. I'm toying with the idea of simply surrounding and bombarding the troops into oblivion there. I don't really fancy attacking and getting half of the oil/refineries destroyed. So why couldn't I isolate it and work the small Dutch units for a month with artillery, at the same time cutting them off from any resupply and solidifying the rest of the island so no reinforcements could be landed. I'm leaning toward this strategy, which could lose me a month or two and save lots of supply and many years of oil production if it works.

On Java Soerabaja will be the first goal, then Batavia. I'm hoping both will be done by the middle of March. Then I can see if there is a chance to make one last landing at either Wake, Port Moresby or even somewhere in Burma/India to isolate troops in Burma. Not much time now to decide, so I have to move fast. I'm fine if none of these options materialize, but it would be great to get one more solid goal completed. It'll all depend on what is at Soerabaja and what happens in Burma. Port Moresby is definitely being built up, and that will be a thorn, but I might have until June to remove it, while Burma is more urgent. I can live with Wake in Allied hands, as an advance through the Gilberts/Marshalls is preferable to trouble in Burma or New Guinea. Soon I might be able to isolate it better once my air strength in the area grows and combines with surface and submarine elements.

I haven't gotten as much search into the Java Sea and Allied subs are boldly wiring in shallow water areas to plague our convoys. Soon this should be remedied as some 20 plane Jake groups will move to the area. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________